Last updated on February 26th, 2025 at 02:32 pm
We are Kevin and Kate aka Happy Irish Wanderers. hailing from different parts of Ireland, our paths first crossed in Scotland, Kevin got an engagement ring made in Lebanon, proposed in Thailand, and we got married in Spain. You could say that different parts of the world had been in our story from the beginning, but at the time, we didn’t realize how much of our life story it would become.
We are a couple who were following the path of buying a house, getting married, having good jobs, and settling down….. But then actually paused to have the conversation asking ourselves – is this the path that we truly want? Turns out it was not!!
What started as dreams were becoming serious talks and slowly turning into possibilities.
We didn’t know what exactly we wanted but we knew one thing, we needed some sunshine. Perhaps the fact it rained in Ireland for almost 2 years straight, seriously not even joking!!
What’s Our Story – How We became Happy Irish Wanderers
Kate ended up being offered a job (should be enough sunshine right?!) We decided to travel for 3 months while the paperwork was being organized.
Kate received a job offer in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean (plenty of sunshine, right?!) so we decided to spend three months traveling through Asia while the paperwork got sorted.
Once the visas and paperwork were sorted, we would fly back to Ireland to collect our already-packed suitcases and make our way to the Cayman Islands.
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But Things Took a Turn…
Issues with the visas meant Kate was unable to start the job as planned. This is where the word “improvise” kicks in! A word we continue to value today as we are still learning that things do not always go to plan.
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Here we were in Vietnam, our house rented out for the year, and no longer in a job. We continued traveling South East Asia with no real long-term plan, and 3 months turned into 7 months.
During this time we got our first real feel of travel as we explored Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
And Then Things Took a Turn Again!
Disaster struck with a traffic accident in Bali. Not our fault, simply a case of being in the wrong place at a VERY wrong time.
Luckily Kate had a sister in Perth, Australia. We diverted our route to Australia as we quickly discovered that crutches and backpacks don’t mix.
What we initially thought of as a disaster we now view as a blessing in disguise. Although very much disguised at the time! While recovering in Perth for 3 months, we began to realize Australia is a pretty cool place. And who knew, also lots of sunshine! So we decided to stay in Australia for a while.
To apply for a working visa in Australia, you need to be outside the country. This turned out to be great news for us, as it allowed us to spend two months exploring Sri Lanka and India while coming up with a new plan to live in “The Land Down Under.” Something we never considered before.
So I Guess we Live in Australia Now?!
Whilst we were in India a job was offered to Kate in Queensland. Quite surreal doing a Skype interview with monkeys literally climbing in the background!
We flew to Brisbane, bought an old second-hand car the same day, and started a 12-hour drive north to a place we never had heard of – The hidden gem of Mackay.
Mackay ended up being our much-loved home for 6 years. We lived amongst rainforests, turquoise waters, beaches, and palm trees, exactly what we were looking for all along.
During this time, we visited new places such as New Zealand, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Philippines. And also revisited old favorites such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia, while taking the opportunity to discover much of the big and beautiful Australia.
Australian Citizens?! Whaat?!
6 years later, we became Australian citizens. How the heck did this happen?! We question that too, but my God are we thrilled!! It may sound contradictory but getting Australian citizenship or “golden ticket” as we also refer to it, really helped in our decision to leave!
Life was really good but with a helping hand from COVID and lockdowns, once again we felt that niggling sensation of adventure growing.
Soon enough the maps were being printed off and a plan of full-time travel began.
The start of Full-time travel around the world
Once we got Australian citizenship, we knew nothing could stop us now. While it was bittersweet to leave Australia, one of our favorite countries in the world, filled with wonderful people, unique wildlife, and many diverse landscapes, Australia will always hold a special place in our hearts. However, it was time to explore the world, and that’s when the Happy Irish Wanderers brand was started!
2022 – After a quick visit back to Ireland (it had been six years at this stage and a bit overdue from the 3 months we told our friends and family!) we started on our full-time adventure, starting with a complete loop around Australia in our beloved Toyota Hiace van. Followed with visits to Thailand, Laos, and the UAE.
2023 – Our 2023 journey kicked off with a few weeks of exploring the Baltic region in Europe, visiting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland. Before starting our next major adventure, an epic Africa overland trip from Cairo to Cape Town all by public transport.
Our African adventure was a thrilling yet demanding journey that took us through 10 incredible countries. We kicked off our 9-month adventure for 30 days in Egypt.
From Egypt, we traveled to Sudan with a plan to make our way to Ethiopia. However, due to unrest in Ethiopia, we were unable to visit and instead headed to Oman for three weeks. It’s funny how things turn out sometimes. Just hours after we left Khartoum Airport at 3 AM on April 15th, the airport was attacked, marking the start of the civil war in Sudan. Luck of the Irish eh!
After our detour to Oman, we returned to Africa, flying into Uganda and then traveling overland through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Namibia, before arriving in Cape Town, South Africa. Our last adventure in Africa was a road trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg, completing our Cairo to Cape Town (Johannesburg!) journey nine months later.
With our African adventure concluded, we took four months in Thailand to begin planning our travels for 2024
2024 – It is hard to plan an overland trip in Asia like we did in Africa with the many different monsoon seasons in Asia, conflict regions such as Myanmar, and restricted border access around China and India. But we eventually came up with a plan.
Our first trip of 2024 took us to Indonesia for 30 days, where we explored Java, Bali, Lombok, and the Gili Islands. This was followed by another 30 days in China, starting in Beijing and traveling overland to Hong Kong. After that, we visited South Korea, a lap of Taiwan, and made our third trip to Vietnam.
Next up was Central Asia. We started our adventure in Uzbekistan, then made our way to Tajikistan with a trip to the less explored Fann Mountains (one of our favorite places in the world) before an unforgettable 9-day road trip along the stunning Pamir Highway.
After that, we explored the beautiful landscapes of Kyrgyzstan before crossing from Bishkek to Almaty into Kazakhstan wrapping up an epic 3-month adventure in Central Asia.
Our final adventure of 2024 took us on an amazing journey from the most western part of India all the way to the lesser-known states of Meghalaya and Nagaland in the most eastern part of India, with a detour to Nepal along the way.
We flew to New Delhi and started a one-month itinerary of Rajasthan, visiting the pink city of Jaipur, Bikaner with its unique rat temple, the golden city of Jaisalmer, and the charming blue city of Jodhpur. We also visited the hippy town of Pushkar, the “City of Lakes” Udaipur, and the hidden gem of Chittorgarh, along with experiencing the worst safari ever at Ranthambore National Park. Finally, we headed to the must-visit cities of Agra and the Taj mahal and Varanasi before crossing overland from India into Nepal for one month.
After our time in Nepal, we crossed back into India and journeyed into the mountains of Sikkim, visiting Darjeeling and Gangtok. Saving the best until last, we discovered hidden gems in Meghalaya, including the incredible living root bridges in Cherrapunji, and finishing the year at the Tribal Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. And that was 2024, what a year!
Happy Irish Wanderers in China 
Happy Irish Wanderers in Busan, South Korea 
Happy Irish Wanderers in Taiwan 
Happy Irish Wanderers in Khiva, Uzbekistan 
Top of the world in the Fann Mountains, Tajikistan 
Happy Irish Wanderers in Kyrgyzstan 
Happy Irish Wanderers exiting India to Nepal 
Happy Irish Wanderers in Nepal
2025 – Where are we going??
If you’re reading this, get ready – Another exciting new adventure is in the works for 2025!!
Find out where in the world we are now for our latest adventures!!!
Plans Will Change and That’s OK!
It’s funny how quickly new plans can start and feel right. We thought we were heading to the Caribbean for a while but ended up in Australia for 6 years and becoming citizens.
Additionally, we began our adventure of full-time travel with a lap of Australia but ended up cutting our trip short. La Nina in 2022 had other plans for us and we had enough of the rain! One of the life lessons we learned is to “go with the flow” and basically that PLANS CHANGE.
That was ok as we got to spend two months in Laos and Thailand again! We truly believe we will end up where we are meant to be even if we don’t realize it at that exact time.
“The moment you decide one outcome is the right outcome, you are also deciding that another outcome is the wrong one. Beyond this, some things work out the way we intend for them to, others don’t. This is a gift too.” – Brianna West
What will the Future Bring?!
At the time of writing in early 2025, we have been traveling full-time for 3 years and visited over 30 countries. Given our past experiences, there will be tough times on the road when you are on yet another bus breaking down for 24 hours, as well as amazing times where we will be left absolutely dumbfounded by kindness and gratitude.
Of course, we are going to get lost and frustrated looking for our hotel, especially after being dropped off in the middle of the night in unknown places. Most certainly our backs will be broken from night buses, sleeping in airports, and our faces will hurt from smiling for selfies wanted by strangers., and hopefully, we won’t find ourselves in more crazy situations like escaping the civil war in Sudan, by luck!
Whatever happens, it’s all part of the adventure, and we love every bit of it – Life is for Living!
With Kate’s background in psychology and Kevin’s time in the military, we believe that together we possess a diverse range of knowledge and skills to offer. We’ve learned so much throughout our journey, and we want to share our travel wisdom to help you make the most of your travels!
If you would like to leave a question/comment below or even if you just want to say “Hey, what’s the craic?!” then please leave a comment. We would love to hear from you!
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Slán go fóil
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Hi! Your adventures are inspiring! Please tell me how you travel so cheaply. Details would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Shari! Thank you very much, that is great to hear!
Fresh of the press!! There’s 2 new articles about money saving tips gone up on our site in TRAVEL TIPS.
The first is how we saved money to start our adventure, and the other article is how we spend our money whilst on the road! Its possible for everyone!!
https://happyirishwanderers.com/full-time-travel-save-money/
Hope you enjoy it and get out there as well!!
Kevin & Kate
You have a really interesting story. Can’t wait to read about your adventures!
Thank you Andy, we really appreciate that! A LOT more adventures to come!
Hi how did you end up getting the Australian citizenship? And how long have you been travelling now on your current trip
Hey Shane.
We had to get our Australian 187 Permanent Residency first (Which was more complicated and a lot cheaper than getting the citizenship) Also we did the PR ourselves without any agency who charge a ridiculous amount to do it, just read the forms a few time and its self explanatory.
After you have the PR more than 4 years, (and be in Australia for that time) you can then apply for citizenship. Do the citizenship test and pay a small fee and that is it!
On the road over two years now with many more places too see!
Love your travels. I’m originally from Shillong but been living in Canada for a while now. Me and my wife recently got married there. My good buds came to celebrate with us all the way from Belfast and they had one heck of a good time. I am so happy that you visited the North East of India because it’s a different world out there. I have also visited Ireland and I find the commoraderie similar with North Easterners. If you ever get yourselves to that part of the world again, please do not hesitate to reach out for anything. Writing this in -degree temperature and I too am in search for the sun, hope we are able to find it like you did.
Hey Justin! Thank you for your message, we loved North East India, very cool place with fantastic people!! It all starts with a thought, which leads to a plan in action!! If you ever have any questions, let us know!!